Rahm Emanuel's inner circle: Fran Spielman reports

Chicago Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman takes us inside Mayor Rahm Emanuel's inner circles HERE. David Axelrod remains one of his closest confidants; Emanuel tells Spielman they talk three or four times a week and most of their conversations are about President Obama's re-election.

"That's much to my chagrin. I would like to talk about me," Emanuel told Spielman.

Others in the Emanuel inner political circle via Spielman: "John Kupper, the former Axelrod partner who worked on all of Emanuel's campaigns and helped him seize Democratic control of the U.S. House; Bill Daley, who succeeded Emanuel as White House chief of staff, and political consultant Peter Giangreco.

"Emanuel even keeps the phone lines burning to three Washington D.C. heavyweights: political consultants James Carville and Paul Begala and Bruce Reed, chief-of-staff to Vice-President Joe Biden, with whom Emanuel co-authored a book."